thoughts and images from my perspective

Sign, Coincidence, Synchronicity

Hello, I’m still here! I’ve been absent from Blogging 101 for several days. Sometimes life, work, fatigue and unending tasks just snowball, and unable to find enough rejuvenating alone time, I slip into overwhelm. Tonight I finally found some time to sit down at my computer when I am not completely exhausted, unable to think or write. I’m behind at least 4 assignments maybe 5 so I was a bit apprehensive to look and see exactly what I needed to do to catch up in Blogging 101.

Tonight the most recent assignment is to Try Another Blog Event. I visited the page, clicked on the link Community Event Listings, and was happily relieved and excited to see The Daily Post Photo Challenge titled Signs. Post a photo of a sign… Yes! I’m ready for this one! I have a photo waiting in the wings all set to go.

And here is the sign. It’s a simple one, of a very common variety, a small variety that I encounter every day.

To drive home their message, as with exit signs or advertisements, sometimes signs are repeated. This “sign” repeated itself several times, yes several, in one day.
I drink a lot of tea, and this message appeared over and over again almost every time I took out a new tea bag on that particular day. Something that presents itself with such persistence necessitates a photograph, but that wasn’t the only thing prompting me to take this shot.

I drink my tea out of a fantastic mug, made by my oldest son, a talented ceramic artist, in my bright and cozy kitchen. Our 1850s home was a complete wreck when we bought it in the 1980s but we have, bit by bit, repaired, enlarged and renovated it over the years. We continue to do so. It may never be finished, but we enjoy the fireplace, the wide plank floors, the old seeded glass window panes and the new yet simple wood moulding we have put around many, not yet all, of the windows and doors. We love hearing the rain on the metal roof, which so far continues to keep us dry. The new furnace we installed a few years ago keeps us much warmer in the winter. We have a good size yard, an abundantly overgrown perennial garden and nice neighbors. I survived a head injury, bur hole and craniotomy. I am able to teach yoga. I have a wonderful family and good friends, … I could continue, but the point of all this is that I have so much to be grateful for.

On that particular day, the day of the recurring tea bag tag, I was not just overwhelmed, I was cranky, perhaps even bitchy, definitely kvetching, feeling generally unsatisfied, upset, because of… because… Now, I can’t even remember why specifically… and then there was this tea bag tag. This small placard. “Gratitude is the open door to abundance.” Then, there it was again, and again,… and again. Each time I made another cup of tea, the new tag would carry the same message. No, the tea bag tags weren’t all the same in that box. Only several were, and I managed to pluck them all out randomly in one day.

Perhaps this was just a coincidence but, I preferred to interpret it as a sign, or at the least, a synchronicity. “Gratitude is the open door to abundance.” They were the words I needed to hear that day.

I could make another list of all the negative problems in my life, and what needs to be fixed, or still isn’t done, which is where my brain was stuck on the day of the recurrent tea bag tag. The recurrent tea bag tag reminding me it’s better to be grateful. It’s better to count my blessings than to dwell on the negatives. Problems will always exist, but I can still choose an attitude of gratitude. I can see the glass as half full rather than half empty. In doing this I can reduce stress, enhance my well-being and increase my daily dose of happiness. Focusing on gratitude, rather than the negative, what’s-wrong-today hamster-wheel train of thought, will also allow me to more easily come up with creative, effective solutions to problems. Problems will always exist, and perhaps on the day of the recurring tea bag tag they were numerous, but I don’t have to give problems the power to trap me in a mire of negativity which can be paralyzing, self-perpetuating, and blind me to the abundance in my life.

So, presented with the recurring message of the tea bag tag. I had to take a photograph. Now whenever I see the photo, I am tickled that I can remember all the positive thoughts and emotions that arose from those little scraps of cardboard bearing a few printed words, and can remember none of the thoughts, or events, or problems that had put me in such a dark funk that day.

I am grateful. Grateful for this small tea bag tag synchronicity. Grateful for the abundance in my life. Grateful for this time to think and write this blog post 🙂

6 thoughts on “Sign, Coincidence, Synchronicity”

Beautiful post , one that resonates with my experience of gratitude also. Love the way you have with words a very happy reminder to me of the way in which gratitude for what we have can create such abundance within us of joy and happiness. I have always found that in times of what we may consider lack are the times in my life that keeping a gratitude journal has lifted me so high that I felt I could fly.Simple thing like a phone call from my children , my mom when she was sick having a good day , baking a nice cake , a smile from a stranger , having a nice fire in the evenings all these and many many more spring to mind from reading your post. Lovely cup by the way and nicer still that it brings such nice feelings into your mind when you see it. Thanks for such an inspiring and uplifting post.

Thank you Kathy for your kind and encouraging words. Keeping a gratitude journal is an excellent practice! I oftentimes count my blessings, but I’ve never done it as a practice. Keeping a daily gratitude journal is certainly a practice and having a practice is a way to build predispositions to think and react in a certain way. Having a predisposition to react in times of lack with gratitude would certainly increase the happiness quotient when needed most. I think you have inspired me to elevate the periodic counting of my blessings up to practice status by keeping a gratitude journal. Thank you again:-)
Blessings,
Terry

Well, I’m grateful for your encouragement! I don’t know how natural I am at blogging. I find writing intimidating. It’s so much easier to put my photos out there. I have to get my courage up a bit to write, but I intend to do more of it and will hopefully become more comforable.

A little bit about me…

Me
I am hopelessly, creatively compelled and inclined, a natural/alternative health enthusiast, teach yoga , and can be quite chatty even though I am an introverted thinker and observer at heart. I love to compose photographs, see the shot, capture it. More and more, photography is my preferred creative outlet.
This blog... is a way for me to exercise my voice, communicate thoughts and ideas, via my words and photos. It's an experiment and an exploration, a way to not only create, but more importantly, to express and perhaps connect. :-)
The longer version is here.